How to Fake Being a Quartz 101: Don't Get Caught
by mandaree1
Summary: Amethyst and Rose travel to the Kindergarten in an attempt to fix their fallen comrades.


**Disclaimer: I don't own Steven Universe!**

**Title: How to Fake Being a Quartz 101: Don't Get Caught **

**Summary: Amethyst and Rose travel to the Kindergarten in an attempt to fix their fallen comrades. **

**Setting: Pre-Series**

**...**

Rose blew into her cupped hands for a solid minute. It was a long process, during which she was thankful Gems didn't need lungs, followed immediately by her squeezing as hard as she possibly could. A long, low grunt of exertion snuck out between her teeth. She opened her hands and found the dirt clumps to have hardened into a series of shards, the longest of which was around her index.

"No," she whispered, voice soft. "You're supposed to be _whole_."

Tiny hands on Rose's back made the Gem jump, almost dropping the faux shards entirely. Amethyst's chin nestled into her shoulder like it was more an instinct than it was a habit. Her visible eye was wide and bright. "Whooooa. Can_ I_ do that?"

"Um," said Rose. "Yes? I mean, not no? I can do it, so I guess-" Amethyst hopped off her back and started collected dirt- "it takes a lot of practice, though, so you might not get it right away!"

Amethyst made a wet raspberry sound into her fist and squished the dirt between her fingers. A few clumps fell out from the sheer force. Rose watched with barely contained curiosity, half-expecting a miracle. Amethyst lifted her hand to reveal an oval-shaped ball of mud.

Her face fell, then went neutral, then lit up in another way. "Look, Rose! I made a snack!" She chucked the mud into the air, catching it with her teeth. Amethyst pointed at her shards. "S'that what you're makin'? A snack?"

Rose held them out. "What do you think?"

The Quartz took one and lifted it to the light. "Looks kinda morbid to me. What're they gonna make?"

"They won't," she admitted. "They aren't real Gem shards."

"Why're you making them, then? Gonna prank someone?" Amethyst's smile curved upwards in rendition of a smug cat. "Is it Pearl? Can I help?"

Rose hesitated. She knew it was silly, but she found herself glancing over her shoulder. It was rare that the other Crystal Gems came around the hill and to the cliff overlooking the ocean; but it was also considerably less rare when she was up there. "I'm... trying to do a trick." She shook the shards, listening to them jingle around in her hands. "I'm trying to make a solid Gem."

Amethyst cocked her head to the side. "You gotta practice too, huh?"

Her eyes fluttered shut. "Yes."

"Would real shards help?"

"I can't. Garnet would notice."

"I've got secret shards!"

Rose's jaw dropped. "You have_ what_?"

"Just trust me," Amethyst pleaded, grabbing her wrist.

Rose does.

Together, they walk into the temple, hand in hand. Rose says hello to Pearl and Garnet, who scarcely look up as they go about their business. She's always taken Amethyst with her for missions, after all. It's a safe way to train her. They get on the pad and the world turns into light and chilly air. They land and it's humid and dark.

"The Kindergarten?"

Amethyst nods. "Remember that super scary monster we fought last week? I bubbled it!"

"I know. It was a very good bubble."

"Well, the bubble didn't end up in Garnet's room." She ducked into her hole and returned with a handful of pieces floating in space. "I went lookin' and here it was! Secret shards." Amethyst held the bubble up for her inspection. "Will these help?"

Rose fell to her knees. Dirt immediately got into her dress as she carefully reached out. She didn't make contact, afraid to pop it. "Oh, Amethyst. This means a lot, but... I don't think I can make this trick work."

Amethyst popped the shards, catching them with ease. Her smile was soft and caring. "Duh! Not _alone_. But now there's two of us! You do the breathy thing, and we'll both squeeze together!"

"Amethyst, I could squish your fingers," Rose warned, but willingly wrapped her hands around hers. The purple Gem was so delicate physically, though she made up for it in personality, and she hated to cause her pain.

"Aw, then I'd just poof. That's not a big deal. Think I'd reform with flat hands? Oooh, oooh, maybe I could fly like you!"

"Amethyst," she repeated, then stopped, then laughed, feeling a weight off her shoulders. "Thank you."

"Save the air for the hand pancake, Rose."

Rose can't help it. She snorts.

While she blows, Amethyst raspberries, and her cheeks grow purple from having a set of lungs. They squeeze together. And Rose, who would normally put all her strength into it, into being perfect, finds herself too scared to go that far- to crush little Amethyst's fingers. When they pull apart, the shards have melded together. It's broken, bumpy, imperfect.

But it's whole.

"_Omistars_," Rose said a one big gasp of air, "It's- they're back together! Maybe they could even-"

Her hand shakes. The ball breaks apart in an instant.

"_Lame_," bemoaned Amethyst, looking somewhat disappointed. "Y'think it needs extra heat? We could use a volcano. Well, not _me_, but Garnet can swim in lava and you... Rose?"

Rose shook her head. Big, fat tears began to roll down her face. "I'm sorry, Amethyst, but I don't think it's going to work, no matter what we do." She tipped her hand to the side, letting them fall into Amethyst's awaiting grip. "_I_ can't fix this."

Amethyst re-bubbled the shards. "Aww, don't say that. You're Rose! You make _everything_ better."

"How did I make _this_ better?" she asked, voice flat.

She tapped the top. Neither of them checked to see where it went. "I mean, you tried. That's more than a lot of peeps do. That makes it better."

"But that doesn't change it. I failed. We failed."

Amethyst's shoulders hunched. "Yeah. I guess. But if two Quartzes couldn't do it, who could?" Something almost sheepish crossed her features, as if it recognized its own lack of awareness. "Not even the Diamonds could."

"You're right," Rose said, staring at the ground. "Not even the Diamonds could."

**Author's Note: Man, I can't believe it's been since MAY since I posted any SU stuff. I have ideas! I do! I have Opposite Axes (my remake of the storyline is coming up nicely! Now it's just about plotting songs and themes), and a Lapis-Peridot thing. I've just been kind of lazy about sitting down and writing things out.**

**I'm really intrigued about Amethyst and Rose's dynamic. We've seen Rose's way of relating to Pearl and Garnet, but almost nothing about Amethyst, despite Amethyst basically being her daughter. So here's a little thing exploring that! =)**

**-Mandaree1**


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